As one of the world’s top universities, the University of Glasgow takes great pride in its Hospitality Services, catering for 18,000 students and more than 5,000 staff as well as extensive conference business.

Following discussions with the University of Glasgow Vegan Society, Hospitality Services have introduced a daily vegan hot food option as part of their service improvements aimed at providing best value, freshly prepared products made, wherever possible, using locally sourced ingredients.

Neil Campbell, Director of Campus Services said: "I am delighted that the team at Hospitality Services continues to move forward and engage with service users. The input from vegan colleagues is welcome and the award demonstrates the joint effort that has gone in to securing this achievement."

Meanwhile Mono, glasgows favourite vegan cafe/ bar/ arthouse/ mini health food shop has a special world vegan day menu for you to try. Visit some of their sister sites too - stereo, the 78, and the flying duck.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Please sign this World Vegan Day petition and forward to your friends.

The UK Govt confirms - "There is no single definition in law for the use of the terms 'vegetarian' and 'vegan' either at UK or European level, and any labelling of food or drink products as 'vegetarian' or 'vegan' is voluntary. However, consumers are protected by general legal provisions outlawing false or misleading labelling in UK legislation. The Food Safety Act 1990 (as amended), the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, and Article 16 of European Union Regulation 178/2002/EC must be complied with if such labelling is used."

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Oct 16, 2007 – World Vegan Day Melbourne FestivalSunday the 28th of October 10am to 5pm (FREE EVENT)Phoenix Community Reserve East Malvernwww.wvd.org.au

Healthy Diet Healthy Planet

Saving the world could be as easy as eating delicious plant based meals according to a fast growing number of people (including celebrities like Alicia Silverstone, Joaquin Phoenix, Daniel Johns, and Moby) who choose a lifestyle that excludes animal products, not only in their diets, but in all aspects of their lifestyle.

The Melbourne World Vegan Day Festival is now in its 5th year and attracts around 5, 000 people and almost 80 stalls. The free entry festival aims to promote a plant based, cruelty free way of living by showcasing vegan foods, cruelty free skincare and cosmetics, health products, organic vegan wines, clothing, pet care and much more. Live music and entertainment for the whole family and free samples andgiveaways provide a colourful backdrop for the celebrations.

This year's highlights include a live performance by Steve Kilbey, ex member of the band The Church, free workshops and seminars and free makeovers using natural vegan cosmetics by an internationally experienced makeup artist.

'We're all concerned for the planet' says coordinator of the festival Mark Doneddu, a long term advocate for a plant based lifestyle 'switching to a diet based on plant foods is a smart way of reducing a host of environmental problems including water and energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention the health benefits for everyone and the animals lives saved'.

Compelling statistics on water usage alone make many rethink their diets. To produce a kilo of beef it takes 50,000 litres of water (that's equivalent to almost 1,400 four minute showers with a water saving showerhead) compare this to a kilo of rice (2,385 litres) or a litre of milk (4,000 litres) compared to a litre of orange juice (780 litres).

'We can make simple yet effective changes to the way we eat, and have a fundamentally positive impact on the health of ourselves and the planet.' Mark says.

This year, Mark and other organisers are so confident that a vegan lifestyle is the way of the future they are encouraging non vegetarians and vegans to come and experience what the World Vegan Day Festival has to offer. 'We want to challenge people's attitude to their food, where it comes from and the far reaching impacts it has, so if you're passionate about the environment, human health or social justice, an animal lover, or even just curious to know what a plant based lifestyle is all about, we invite you to come to World Vegan Day and experience it for yourself, we think you'll be more thanpleasantly surprised'.

For more information, contact Mark Doneddu on 044871 2063 or email meghan.street@gmail.com

World Vegan Day Melbourne is proudly sponsored by: Soulmama and Happy and Healthy Foods

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Pizza Express - a vegan history As World Vegan Day approaches we ask - "whatever happened to the Pizza Express perfect vegan pizza?" Remember that? - it was awesome - suits and punks together in Reading and Croydon salivating at the real McCoy - dairy free vegan pizzas to shout about.

Not your usual half hearted insult to your intelligence, 'can't be bothered to even try to please you' typical lack of catering effort.

Capricorn, owners of Nandos and their MD South African little Charles Lux were behind the demise of the original Vegetarian restaurants, Cranks, started in Carnaby Street London in 1961 and who got bled dry, raped and pillaged, and eventiually shut down, just after Cranks 40th Birthday. Staff were made redundant a few days before Christmas in a move that warranted Capricorn nominating for the Dicken's Christmas Carol award!

Barely a few years later Capricorn were playing Scrooge again cancelling World Vegan Day Vegan Pizza Parties all around the UK just a few days before the event.

Did Capricorn have some kind of veggie vendetta? There seems no other logic to their madness.

The franchise and venture capital group has moved on (and the share price) maybe it's time to try again to help the Pizza Express chain see the sense in a vegan pizza? Read this first.

Ask them why - despite all the evidence and clear profitability that Capricorn was allowed to trash this initiative.

Currently Pizza Express is the only one with we know of with a dairy free / egg free pizza base but please ask these others about vegan pizzas, dairy free pizza bases and how they can justify charging the same price for a pizza without the vegan cheese!

Monday, October 15, 2007

This World Food Day was preceded by a series of FAO-warnings "Wheat priceshit record-high level", "28 countries face food shortages", "Climate changedisaster is upon us", etc., and also the European Union cautioned that "2007total cereal harvest will be ...1,6% below the average of the last fiveyears", and that cereal intervention stocks "have shrunk from 14 milliontonnes at the beginning of 2006/2007 to around 1 million tonnes now".

Environmental changes are given as a major cause for failing harvests, andthe FAO even names the culprits, pointing to future disasters by informingthat livestock's environmental impact "will worsen dramatically...".

So it's official: It's the beef!

What vegetarians have tried to get across for decades has finally becomeofficial wisdom: 'Livestock's Long Shadow' puts a dramatic pressure on theenvironment, contributes critically to climate change and global warming,leads to failing harvests and threatens the global food supply. But that'snot all: Even in times of dwindling resources, enormous harvest sharescontinue to be requisitioned for farm animals.

The result is obvious: Food is getting scarce and expensive for everyoneand, as always, the poor are the first to suffer and suffer the most.

Stop meat-business as usual

Since animal husbandry is one of the most prominent reasons for the world'sgreenhouse pollution which threatens the food supply of billions of people,more sustainable lifestyles have to be adopted urgently. There is absolutelyno need for the citizens of some countries to continue eating roughly theirown weight in meat every year! Reason and solidarity must bring aboutlighter ecological footprints of the individual, and vegetarianism is theprime choice in this quest.

On the occasion of World Food Day 2007, the European Vegetarian Unionappeals to all people of good will, and especially to national andinternational decision makers, to accept and promote the vegetarianalternative. The present terrifying crossroad shows clearly that for us andall future generations, new ethical alternatives have to replace olddestructive habits - today.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

The Dairy industry really is in a mess - despite removing some of the fat (skimmed milk) adding in vitamins and flavour, using anti biotics to curb mastitis, removing the lactose to make it more digestible (lactolite)and adding in Omega 3 from fish oil in an effort to make it more similar to the nutrients in human breast milk and massive government subsidies the dairy industry is still struggling to be sustainable....

Dean Foods, the largest milk processor in the US, has suffered as dairy costs continue to rise and the company blamed "unprecedented" costs and a glut of organic milk in the US.

"Rapidly increasing and record high dairy commodity costs have created a very challenging operating environment and 2007 results have been well short of our expectations," admitted Gregg Engles, chairman and CEO. "The third quarter has been particularly challenging as dairy commodity costs have risen sharply, hitting all time highs."

Engles added: "This is by far the most difficult operating environment in the history of the company."

In a bid to reduce costs, Dean Foods said it would cut up to 700 jobs from its workforce. "It is a tough decision but it is a necessary action to improve our competitive position," Engles said.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Celia Hammond Trust has so far rescued 147 cats from the Olympic site. There are many more but now the committee have banned further rescue for no apparent reason.

They have signed a death warrant for hundreds of cats and brought shame to a nation of cat lovers. This is the sort of behaviour that we hear stories about in Greece but it is shocking to find this disregard of life in the UK home of organisations such as the RSPCA where we have laws to protect domestic and wild animals.

Sponsored by the North American Vegetarian Society, World Vegetarian Day has kicked off a month of meatless meal parties, potlucks, presentations and food tasting displays around the world for the past 30 years.